Chapter 10 - Skill 7 : A Brave Sibling (The Wholehearted Journey)

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Feeling the sting of a bull whip and the weight of shame from a painful encounter with my older brother left a deep wound that only one person could heal - Jesus. I invite you to journey with me as I share how I asked Jesus to step into the role of my supernatural brother and guide me into healing and wholeness. Explore with me as we re-interpret the parable of the prodigal son, introducing Jesus as the third brother. As the eldest of all siblings, He represents the perfect image of love and compassion, and is the author of our story and guide into the life we long for.

Remember struggling with your siblings? We all do. Now imagine transcending those experiences and finding healing and life in a new way - this is what I'll be discussing with you today. We'll delve into the seven skills essential for this transformation, and how recognizing Jesus as the oldest and best of all siblings can lead us to a more fulfilling life. Discover the healing power of brotherly love and how embracing Jesus as your courageous older sibling can guide you towards a wholehearted life. Join me on this transformative journey and experience the healing and life that Jesus' brothering can bring.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Chapter 10. Skill 7. A Brave Sibling. As I wandered into my hotel room in Southern California, I heard Jesus speak these words. I want to brother you. Instantly.

Speaker 1: 0:14

A searing scene from my sophomore year of high school scrolled through my mind. A friend from school had come over to my house to hang out. My older brother was there and I can't remember the context of our verbal exchange that afternoon. But whatever we said left him stomping down the hallway towards his room. He quickly returned, clenching a bull whip in his right hand. He reared the cord above his head and thrust it toward me. The leather fly on the end of the whip cracked as it snapped my side. A jolt of pain and adrenaline surged. I bolted toward the front door, attempting to get beyond the whip's reach. As I raced across the living room I heard the recoil of the leather braid, followed by a loud thwack as the whip struck my back. It knocked me to the floor. My friend sat motionless on the couch, eyes and mouth wide open. I reached for the doorknob, twisted it and ran out of the house, yelling I hate you repeatedly. I was mortified. I cried in front of a classmate. I ran instead of facing my brother. I felt like a weakling, a total coward. My guests slipped out of the house without a word.

Speaker 1: 1:25

After this agonizing recollection, a series of other painful exchanges with my brother reeled through my mind like a series of short films. I laid face down on the hotel bed and wept. Then I heard Jesus ask what can I do for you? I whispered. I want you to be my brother in a supernatural way. I want you to lead and guide me. Reach me now, brother, mentor me. You're further along than me and I desperately need to lean on your strength Now.

Speaker 1: 1:56

As an adult, I regretted being at odds with my older brother for most of my life. It was a terrible loss and I had never taken the time to recognize that. I had just shrugged it off as intense sibling rivalry. But this loss and the coinciding hurt was a big deal to the healer of the heartbroken. Jesus had come for my brokenness, to heal my brother wounds, and he'd waited for just the right moment to get me back into the very state, california and state of mind in which they had transpired. Inviting the presence of Jesus into my hurting heart and into the loss, I forgave my brother and allowed myself to grieve, letting the pain touch my heart and to feel the loss of sharing a house with an older brother, yet sharing very little brotherly love. Then I invited God's healing presence to enter the wounded place. I accepted Jesus' request to brother me and be my older sibling and to continue leading me into this whole hearted journey he had me on. At the time I didn't know exactly what Jesus meant when he said he wanted to brother me, but what I soon discovered was that a good and a courageous older brother was exactly what I needed to lead me from where I was to where I needed to be, to help me transition from the limited way I was currently experiencing life and into the more expansive and better one God desired for me. I would need Jesus' brothering to continue the healing of my heart so I could enter the life I was longing to experience. And I believe if you consider it, you will recognize you need him to be your good and brave older sibling as well If your heart is to become whole and allow you to enter the life you long for.

Speaker 1: 3:53

One of the most notable parables of Jesus is the parable of the prodigal son. You've heard this one where the younger son receives his inheritance early and just blows it on self-indulgence. He returns home after a famine and he's hoping just to come back as a servant. But the father's there, waiting on the porch, runs out to meet his prodigal son, embraces him, restores him, you know, puts the ring on his finger a sign of authority and restoration and sonship, puts a robe on him and throws a feast. And then there's this older brother at the very end that shows up and he's been working hard in the father's fields and he feels disgruntled. He's been responsible and in some ways he may be carrying the family farm because the father isn't in the fields or directing the house. He's dejected and on the porch waiting for his lost son to come home. And so here's the older brother responsible, carrying the load and he comes back home and the father comes out and says hey, we had to celebrate your brother. He's home. The older brother's like well, I feel a little bit betrayed here, like you haven't even given me a goat with my friends and now you've killed the fatted calf for this guy who's blown the family fortune, smeared our family name, and Jesus leaves the story right there in that place, with these two siblings at odds with each other.

Speaker 1: 5:39

One thing I want to just share about this story is that we recognize pretty easily the two brothers the prodigal one and then the older, more responsible one. But there is a third brother in this story that few people recognize. In the story, of course, there's the younger brother and the older brother, but upon deeper inspection there is a third brother who is actively participating in the story. He's often overlooked, so if you haven't seen him before, don't feel bad about that, but he serves such a crucial role that the tale could not be told without him. This story is told by the third brother. He's the author and just happens to be the eldest of all siblings.

Speaker 1: 6:30

As Colossians, chapter one, verse 15 through 16, says, the son, or Jesus, is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for in him all things were created, through him and for him. See, not only is Jesus the eldest, but he's the very best of us, and his heart is as loving as the father in the story, who was looking for his son and, while he was still a long way off, was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. As Luke, chapter 15, verse 20, says, though different in expression. Jesus' heart is identical to the father's. Jesus is the brotherly image of the invisible father. He is the inventor of brotherhood, for in him all things were created, through him and for him, and it's a million times better than anything you could have ever possibly wished or imagined an earthly sibling might be.

Speaker 1: 7:40

Jesus left his father's house to invade a very dangerous and dysfunctional world. Determined to win over our prodigal hearts. He reminds us who we really are beloved children of a loving father. He boldly places his life between us and our spiritual enemy, sacrificing himself for us, and then miraculously resurrects again, all to see us, his siblings, return home. The meaning of the story of the lost son becomes so much better when we understand that it's told by the eldest and best sibling of all. The eldest brother has journeyed an incredible distance to tell this parable to his lost brothers and sisters.

Speaker 1: 8:26

Through this tale, our eldest brother was showing us the way back home to our father. He didn't come to preach at us that we better get home fast at the behest of a disgruntled and demanding father. No, jesus came to personally guide and escort us back home Like a loving older brother, walking with us each step of the way. Follow me was always his endearing invitation to those he would lead to the incredible, loving father. His desire is to brother us until each one of us and each of our hearts are holy at home and our father's house, and this is the way back to the father and the way into the better life God has planned for you to walk with Jesus all the way home to your heavenly parent and your true self, no matter what your earthly sibling was like.

Speaker 1: 9:26

We too must transcend our experience, whether we were the only child, or whether we had great brothers or sisters, or whether we had dysfunctional relationships with our siblings. We must transcend, like we have transcended with our parents to transcend to our heavenly parent. Thus we must transcend our siblings to this brave sibling. Seeing how he loves us and brothers us, invites us in, heals us, is tender towards us. This is vitally going to be important, as he shows us his brotherly ways as the eldest and the best of all his siblings, which is us.

Speaker 1: 10:21

This concept is going to be very important in the following chapter, where all seven skills come together. Here's one last thought, especially regarding this skill. I wish I could give you so much more information, because this is so transformative You're going to have to get the book for this one and wade through it. This is the crescendo where healing and life comes in a new way. If there's something, I could describe it as, it's like the doorknob on the door into the better life that Jesus has prepared for you and he's promised for all of his followers. So please dive into this chapter and do your work here. You'll be so glad you did.